Getting strong now

Phil Certain, who suffers from Parkinson-like symptoms, does punching drills with his wife, Melinda.

As heavy rain falls outside Hybrid Athletic Club’s open garage door in Fitchburg, about 20 people are passing a football around in a boxing class exercise: catch the ball, shout your name and boxer name, and answer today’s question, What do you like to do on a rainy day?

“Phil. Boxer name Whodat,” says 75-year-old Phil Certain when he gets the football. “I like to sleep.”

But there will be no snoozing this morning in the Rock Steady Boxing class. Trainer Patti Batt has other plans. “It’s a tough class today, we’re doing eight minutes at each station,” Batt says. “It’s no whining Wednesday!”

Like most in the class, Certain has Parkinson’s disease — or another degenerative disorder with Parkinson-like symptoms, including deterioration of motor skills, balance, speech and sensory function.

Certain, who retired as dean of UW-Madison’s College of Letters & Science in 2004, was diagnosed with epilepsy in 1982 after a grand mal seizure. When he started tripping and falling three years ago, doctors thought he might be experiencing drug-induced Parkinsonism — a side effect of epilepsy medication.

Despite switching his medication, the symptoms remained. “There is a family of neuromuscular maladies similar to Parkinson’s but there is no diagnostic test and no cure for any of them,” Certain says. “It is generally believed, however, that the course of the disease can be slowed by vigorous exercise. Hence, Rock Steady Boxing.”

The nonprofit was founded in Indianapolis in 2006 by Scott C. Newman who was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson’s at 40. “He noticed when he was boxing that his symptoms would go away,” Batt says.

The program has spread around the globe. Batt learned about it in 2015 from a CBS Sunday Morning segment on reporter Lesley Stahl’s husband, who took Rock Steady classes after his Parkinson’s diagnosis. The next day Batt, a retired state worker who has been working at Hybrid Athletic Club since 2012, signed up for the training to become a Rock Steady-certified boxing instructor. With Batt’s certification, Hybrid became the first Rock Steady Boxing affiliate in Wisconsin in May 2016.

“Out of all sports, boxing is the [most] demanding in terms of balance, hand-eye coordination, mental focus, agility and you take all those things that people with Parkinson’s experience like tremors, rigidity, balance issues, and boxing is the perfect sport,” Batt says. “It attacks at all points.”

The non-contact classes at Hybrid are 90 minutes long, four days a week. Batt says there is a lot of laughter among the group which has formed a strong community. “While they are here they aren’t patients,” Batt says. “They are treated as athletes.”

Certain’s wife, Melinda — boxer name “Cupcake” — also participates. At 76, Melinda is an avid jogger who retired from UW-Madison in 2003 where she taught math. “At first Melinda said ‘I don’t think I’ll box,’” Batt says. “And then she said ‘Oh, maybe I’ll try.’”

As the rain continues to pour down outside, Phil and Melinda put on their boxing gloves and head to the punching bags. A volunteer helps Phil stand steady while he practices his hooks; Melinda punches a bag next to Phil. Meanwhile Batt bounces from boxer to boxer. “Nice Phil! Perfect,” Batt says. A second later she is checking in with someone who has decided to call it a day. “You’ve hit a wall?” Batt ask. “Okay, let me give you a hug.”

“She is the heart and soul of this whole thing,” Melinda says.

Why Batt loves being a Rock Steady Boxing instructor: “When people get diagnosed [with Parkinson’s] their world shrinks a little bit. But this program can help to open their world back up again.”